‘Why can’t you just put your phone away?’
This is a question that I have been asked numerous times in the last good few years, but I would always shrug it off and continue scrolling myself away. But why can’t we just put our phones away?
After a random burst of motivation a month ago, I decided to challenge myself to a ‘phone detox’ where I would reduce my screen time as much as possible and live in the moment for once. Surprisingly, after convincing myself that I wouldn’t last more than a couple of days – it has been so much easier than I thought it would be. So much more freeing. Refreshing. Enlightening. Peaceful. I feel great.
It’s actually quite scary how differently you feel and see things in life after you start a phone detox. For me, I feel more grateful to be alive (it sounds cheesy but it’s true), I feel more motivated to try new things and speak to new people, and I just want to get out every day and just go and appreciate the outdoors.
It also makes me feel sad to see others around me so glued to their phones. Everywhere I go, I see not only young adults with their eyes stuck to their screens, but also fully grown adults, even on a bus or train ride with beautiful views out the window or in a restaurant with their friends or family.
Many of us don’t realise how much a phone or social media addiction impacts our day to day lives. From offsetting our social and communicative skills to distorting the way that we see ourselves, excessive screen time usage has been proven to decrease your self esteem from socialising too much over social media than in person.
But walking away from your phone really offers you room for self improvement, not only to live and talk in the moment, but to de-stress and see everything in life differently.
There is this one quote from the 80s classic Ferris Bueller’s Day Off that has stuck with me and always will:
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around every once in a while, you could miss it.”
The way it captures the importance of admiring your life while you have it makes it my personal motto.
As someone who was just as addicted to my phone as you probably are, I urge you to just put it away and look up to see the beauty that is life. You have no idea how much you are missing every day.
This article formed part of BRAW Magazine Issue 5: Mind, Mood, Mentality. You can read more of Issue 5 here.
Featured Image Credit: Erin Hamilton/BRAW Magazine Issue 5
Third year journalism student at Stirling University
